1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Hey, we're doing some 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: Canadian history. But it's also Halloween. Uh so that means 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: this one is a little bit on the darker side. 6 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: This one is a murder mystery sort of. We know 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: what happened and who was involved, but the details of 8 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: what led to everything happening the way it did are 9 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: a little fuzzy, and there are a lot of things 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: that have been it seems like, systematically erased from the 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:48,639 Speaker 1: historical record, So this one remains a mystery. Heads up, 12 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: we do want to let you know this episode involves 13 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: a lot of discussion of a domestic violence incident that 14 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: involves guns. It also involves speculation in the press about 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: the mental health of those involved. But this is about 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: what's often called the Redpath murders. On June thirteenth, nineteen 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: oh one, Ada Maria Redpath, who is fifty nine, and 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,199 Speaker 1: her son Jocelyn Clifford, aged twenty six, were found shot 19 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: to death in their home, which was known as the 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: Redpath Mansion. We're going to talk about that in the 21 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 1: behind the scenes, but more than one hundred and twenty 22 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: years later, what exactly happened to lead to those deaths 23 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: remains unknown. We know how they died, but why is 24 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: probably something we're never going to understand. So we want 25 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: to tell their story. But first we're going to start 26 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: by talking about Ada's life and the lives of two 27 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: of her children who are closest to this strange tragedy. 28 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: Ada Maria Mills was born in April twenty sixth, eighteen 29 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: forty two into a well off family. Her father, John 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: Easton Mills, was a well known and successful businessman. He 31 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: died when Ada was still a small child. He was, 32 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: I believe, the mayor of Montreal when he died, held 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: that post for I think less than a year at 34 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: the time, but that's kind of illustrative of how how 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: well known and how prominent he was. Aida married John 36 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 1: James Redpath in Putney, England, when she was twenty five. 37 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,679 Speaker 1: Because she was from a well law family, Aida and 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: John had a marriage contract that reads kind of like 39 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: a modern prenup. It stated that she would retain total 40 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: control of her own wealth and assets. It's often referred 41 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: to as wording, being as though she had never married, 42 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: so like literally completely siloed off away from her husband's money. 43 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: She would later insist that her daughter would have the 44 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: same financial autonomy should she ever choose to marry John. 45 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: James Redpath was himself from a wealthy family. His father, 46 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: John Redpath's senior, had moved to Canada from Scotland in 47 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: the early nineteenth century and made a fortune in construction, 48 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: and he used that fortune to purchase more than two 49 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: hundred acres of land on Mount Royal, just northwest of Montreal. 50 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: He subdivided this land and resold a lot of it, 51 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: and his other wealthy families purchased the land and built 52 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 1: on it. This established a really wealthy neighborhood that came 53 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: to be known as the Square Mile. Over the next 54 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: hundred years, the community of the Square Mile neighborhood became 55 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: more and more intertwined. A lot of families became linked 56 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: through various marriages amongst themselves. Yeah, and all of those 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: families also kind of made a lot of business deals 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: with each other, so their wealth kind of kept folding 59 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: in on itself, and they, like I said, it became 60 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: this little enclave. When John and Ada married, John was 61 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: working in the Red Path Family sugar refinery. He had 62 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: been a partner in the firm at that point for 63 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: several years, but he didn't stay in that industry for 64 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: a very long time after the marriage, though, and he 65 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: actually left it to join the Victoria Rifles. That's a 66 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: volunteer military regiment based in Montreal that had formed in 67 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two. And that seems like sort of a 68 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: good indication that John really did not have to worry 69 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: about income. Ada and John had five children over the 70 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: course of eight years, starting in eighteen sixty eight. They 71 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: were Amy, Peter, John, Reginald Harold, and Jocelyn Clifford, who 72 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: went by Clifford. Aida had been the one to purchase 73 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: the family home at ten sixty five Sherbrook Street West 74 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: in the Square Mile. She did that with her family 75 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: money in eighteen seventy. We'll talk about that house a 76 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: bit more on Friday. Yeah, there's a little bit of 77 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: confusion about which house was the house that I ran 78 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: into doing research looking for a picture to put on 79 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: our social media for this, I sureted to look at 80 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: a lot of incredibly similar looking houses from right on 81 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: that same street. Yeah, this is also a problem where 82 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: there's more than one house called the Red Path Mansion 83 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: in this area. So at some point in her life, 84 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: though Ada began having a variety of health problems. This 85 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: is a little bit tricky because the specific nature of 86 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,679 Speaker 1: those issues is hard to pin down. She was treated 87 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,239 Speaker 1: for a lot of different things, both physical and psychological, 88 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: including trigeminal neuralgia, melancholy, and joint pain. Any readings that 89 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: the family wrote about her generally describe her in ways 90 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 1: that kind of characterize her as just being frail or fragile. 91 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: By the time she was in her forties. It also 92 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: seems like she was away from her home and her 93 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: children a lot for treatments for these various problems. In 94 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: an undated letter that she sent the family from New 95 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: York while she was being fitted for braces for her 96 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: joint problems, she wrote, quote, my dear children, the doctors 97 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: say that it would be much better if I could 98 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: remain until Monday. They want me to get quite accustomed 99 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: to my new brace before I leave, and find out 100 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: all its faults, so that they can send me home 101 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: in good order and comfortable, for they do not want 102 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: me to have to come back here very very soon. See, 103 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: there is no one in Montreal who can alter the 104 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: brace and change it if it should hurt me, and 105 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: it is better that I should stay here until they 106 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: have made it fit well. It has hurt me dreadfully, 107 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: but every day they make some little change, and tonight 108 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: it is more comfortable, although not quite right yet. And 109 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: I cannot walk it all yet without my crutches. It 110 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: stretches my legs so much that it makes it an 111 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: inch longer than the well leg. And doctors say that 112 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 1: I must let them put a thick three quarter inch 113 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: sole on the boot of my well foot. If they 114 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: do this, poor Harold will think me more of a 115 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: giant than ever. But never mind. If only they will 116 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: let me go home, I will be willing to wear 117 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: anything they please. And bless you, my darlings, will be 118 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: so glad to see your mother that you won't stop 119 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: to find fault with her looks. God, bless you, my 120 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,239 Speaker 1: precious children, your loving mother. After AIDA's husband, John James 121 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 1: Redpath died on June fourth, eighteen eighty four, Ada relied 122 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: increasingly on her children, particularly her only daughter, who was 123 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: also her oldest child. That was Amy, and her youngest son, Clifford. 124 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: Amy was born on May sixteenth, eighteen sixty eight, the 125 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:14,239 Speaker 1: year after Ada and John were married. The red Paths 126 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: lived abroad during their early marriage, so Amy was born 127 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: in Europe and then arrived in Canada when she was 128 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: still a small child. From an early age, Amy was 129 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: deeply devoted to her family, although we don't really know 130 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: if this was just her natural tendency or if it 131 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: was because she knew. The expectation was that she would 132 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: need to help with running the house and caring for 133 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: her younger siblings. Was really routinely expected of unmarried daughters 134 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: at the time that they would fill a role of 135 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: that nature within their family, and Amy had never expressed 136 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: any obvious interest in marriage or even mentioned any suitors 137 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: in her writing growing up. This of course led to 138 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: various speculations. Uh yeah, we'll talk about some of them 139 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: on Friday as well. Jocelyn Clifford Redpath was born on 140 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: November seventeenth, eighteen seventy six, and although his sister Amy 141 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: was only eight, she was one of his sponsors slash 142 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: godparents at his baptism. Clifford, who also went by Cliff, 143 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: studied at McGill University, and he joined the law program 144 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: there in eighteen ninety seven. Once he started studying law, 145 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: he also started apprenticing at the law firm of Campbell, Meredith, 146 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: Allen and Haig, and he was on track for a 147 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: law career when he graduated in nineteen hundred and started 148 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: to study for the bar exam. By the end of 149 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds, only Amy and Clifford were still at 150 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,839 Speaker 1: home with Ada, and they took care of her. Amy 151 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: ran the house and Clifford managed the finances with advice 152 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: from his older brothers and uncles. To be clear, while 153 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: they were their mother's primary companions, they weren't managing her 154 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: care alone. There was also a full house staff who 155 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: Amy hired and managed, including an nurse, but they were 156 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: put in the position of being the heads of the household. 157 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: Ada would travel to upstate New York in the summers 158 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: to spend time in specialty clinics or health resorts, and 159 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: Clifford usually traveled with her. On one occasion in eighteen 160 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: ninety eight, when Ada was traveling with her older son 161 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: Peter instead of Clifford, she was so clingy with Amy 162 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 1: at the train station she was set to leave that 163 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: Amy decided she had to go with their mother as well, 164 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: even though she did not have any luggage or travel 165 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: gear with her. Yeah, she wrote in a letter to 166 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: I believe it was a cousin about like, I'm going 167 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: to Saratoga Springs and I don't even have gloves. She 168 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: just was like, I have nothing. Amy and Clifford were 169 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: also very close, and they spent a lot of time together, 170 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: even when it was not necessitated by their household duties 171 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: or responsibilities. So they would attend social gatherings and church together. 172 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: They often took long walks together, and Amy helped cliff 173 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: with his law study. You would even rewrite the notes 174 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: that he had taken during lectures so that they would 175 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,199 Speaker 1: be easier for him to study when he was studying 176 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: for the bar, basically like she was writing study guides 177 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: for him. Clifford was also very very close with their mother. 178 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 1: In a letter to Clifford in eighteen ninety eight, AIDA's 179 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: attachment to her youngest son is a parent. She wrote, quote, dearest, Oh, 180 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: how I miss you. I have come so to depend 181 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: on you that I am lost without you. Nothing seems 182 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: worthwhile without you, your most loving old mother. Though she 183 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: was still only in her late fifties. By nineteen oh one, 184 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: when the shooting took place, AIDA's health had declined to 185 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: the point that she spent her time almost exclusively in 186 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: her bedroom, and she had stopped attending even family events. 187 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: Cliff on the other hand, seemed to have a life 188 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: that was just on the precipice of real success. In 189 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: early June of nineteen oh one, there were discussions at 190 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,559 Speaker 1: the law firm where he'd apprentice about making him a 191 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: partner once he passed the bar. That never happened. We 192 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: are going to talk about how the tragedy in the 193 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: Red Path Home unfolded, but first we will pause for 194 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. So we mentioned at the top of 195 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: the episode that Ada and Clifford were quote found dead, 196 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,680 Speaker 1: and that is often how it's reported, but to me, 197 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: that wording tends to convey this sense of distance, like 198 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: the house had been empty except for them, or that 199 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,839 Speaker 1: they had been dead for some period of time before 200 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: being found, or that there could be questions about if 201 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: someone else had been in the house. None of that 202 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: was the case. It was absolutely not. They had been 203 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: discovered immediately because there were plenty of other people in 204 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: the house when the shots were fired. Those people heard 205 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: the shots and they went to investigate right away. That 206 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: sort of hazy and confusing sense of them being discovered 207 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: later started. Immediately in the press. The Calgary Old ran 208 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: a brief notice about the deaths that read, in part quote, 209 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: Missus John J. Redpath of Sherbrooke Street, a widow lady 210 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 1: and her son twenty five were found dying in their 211 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: house in Missus Redpath's room late in the night from 212 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: bullet wounds in the heads. The son is in the 213 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: hospital unable to make a statement. The mother died within 214 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: an hour without making a statement. All of this actually 215 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 1: happened around six pm, So the late in the night 216 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: statement it's not really correct. No, there's a lot of 217 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: incorrect as we'll discuss. As we said, there were other 218 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: people home. The oldest of the redpath sons, Peter, was there. 219 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: He heard the gunfire and he ran right to the sound, 220 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: which was, as we've said, in his mother's room. There 221 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 1: were also members of the house staff in the home 222 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: who also went to the room. Ada did die on 223 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: the scene. Some reports say she died instantly, others make 224 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: it sound like she may have died a few minutes 225 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:04,079 Speaker 1: after being found owned Clifford was still alive, although unconscious, 226 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: and he was reportedly taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. 227 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: He died that night at eleven or eleven fifteen, or 228 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: maybe eleven fifty, maybe shortly after midnight, depending on what 229 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:20,079 Speaker 1: account you read. Incidentally, he was never registered in hospital 230 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: records as having been admitted to the Royal Victoria or 231 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: to any other hospital. This is one of just a 232 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: lot of small inconsistencies and gaps and the information about 233 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: the shooting that have kept people scratching their heads for 234 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: more than a century. As soon as this tragedy hit 235 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 1: the news, there were rumors about what had really happened 236 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: in the Red Path home, and there were a lot 237 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: of factors that fueled the spread of those rumors. For one, 238 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 1: the red Paths were very, very wealthy. They were from 239 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: a largely insular community of similarly wealthy families, so people 240 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: naturally had a tendency to want to speculate. But for another, 241 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: the sheer shock of a tragedy like this just led 242 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: people to say speculate about it. But there were really 243 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: three very significant contributing factors. One, there was little investigation 244 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: into the shootings. Two, the family was largely unwilling to 245 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: discuss the matter publicly. Now, on the one hand, this 246 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: is totally understandable. Who would want to talk about the 247 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: sudden murder suicide of two family members while grieving and 248 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: likely in shock. But because no one from the house 249 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: was saying very much, their quiet started to be framed 250 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: as possibly covering something up, and three, the details kept 251 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: changing from report to report. One idea was that Ada 252 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: had a mental break that was brought on by ongoing 253 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: insomnia and that somehow led to the shooting. This is 254 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: the narrative that came up in news reports immediately after 255 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: the tragedy. The Sherbrooke Daily Record of Montreal printed the 256 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: following on June fourteenth, quote, A very sad affair occurred 257 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: last evening. For some months, Missus jj Redpath had been 258 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: a confirmed invalid one of the characteristics of her malady 259 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: being prolonged insomnia. About six o'clock, the household heard an explosion, and, 260 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: hurrying to her room, found both Missus Redpath and her son, 261 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: mister Clifford Redpath, seriously wounded by revolver shot. Missus Redpath 262 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: died in a short time. Her son was removed in 263 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 1: an unconscious condition to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he 264 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: expired about midnight. Neither could give any account of what 265 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: had happened. A write up in the Weekly News Advertiser 266 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: of Vancouver, British Columbia offered similar speculation, offering quote, no 267 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: details of the tragedy are known. Missus Redpath had been 268 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: ill for some time, suffering from insomnia. The surmise is 269 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: that while temporarily mentally deranged, Missus Redpath attempted to end 270 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: her life, and in attempting to prevent her, her son 271 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: was shot. The unfortunate lady then completed her undertaking. But 272 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: the Ottawa Citizen had a different take. Yes, Ada was 273 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: having issues with mental health because of insomnia, but she 274 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: wasn't dangerous because of it. Their ride up states quote 275 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: who was responsible for the tragedy is yet a mystery. 276 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: For some years, Missus Redpath has suffered greatly from insomnia, 277 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 1: to such an extent that her mind was affected. Doctor 278 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: Roddick had been in constant attendance upon her, but it 279 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: was not imagined that her condition was at all likely 280 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: to result in violence to herself or the members of 281 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: her family. Another account from the Quebec Daily Mercury seems 282 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: to state as fact the idea that Clifford murdered his 283 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: mother and then himself in a drunken rage. Quote. It 284 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: has transpired in connection with the Redpath tragedy that Clifford 285 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: Redpaths shot his mother and then put two bullets in 286 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: his own head. They had been quarreling for some time, 287 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: and young Redpath is said to have been under the 288 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: influence of liquor at the time of the tragedy. The 289 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: young man was a law student. The actual findings of 290 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: the coroner's inquest were different from all of these theories, 291 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: and it happened very quickly, as in the day after 292 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: the shooting is when the inquest was held, and the 293 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: coroner's jury was made up of members of wealthy families 294 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:26,200 Speaker 1: from the small square mile community. There were John Dunns Junior, H. Browning, Lansing, 295 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: Lewis ECB. Fanshawe, George Hyde, Bartlett McLennan, Francis McLennan, John Walker, W. Maurice, 296 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: John Savage, W. W. Watson, Charles Esdley and Herbert Wallace. 297 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: The Halifax Morning Harold reported quote. Investigation by the coroner's 298 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: jury today put a new light on the Redpath tragedy 299 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: of yesterday. The evidence showed that missus Redpath had been 300 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: shot twice, once in the back of the head and 301 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: then a second time in the right shoulder while the 302 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: bullet had entered young redpass head to the right of 303 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: the left temple. The jury brought in a verdict that 304 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: the young man had killed his mother in a fit 305 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: of temporary insanity brought on by an epileptic fit, and 306 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: then taken his own life. The first story given out 307 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: by the family that the shooting had probably been done 308 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: by the mother was due to the fact that the 309 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 1: young man was still alive. I feel like we should 310 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 1: just note that a lot of the language being used 311 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: to discuss things like epilepsy and mental illness completely outdated, 312 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: very outdated and offensive by today's standards, so like, just 313 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:39,159 Speaker 1: don't go repeating it in casual conversation. This also brings 314 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 1: into focus one detail that changed repeatedly about all this. 315 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: Although initial accounts for multiple sources stated that there were 316 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: two shots, there was one account in a paper that 317 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: Clifford had shot himself twice, and then this account which 318 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: said that he had shot his mother twice. That would 319 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,879 Speaker 1: be three shots total. So that's just another aspect of 320 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 1: all this that was inconsistent. Now, subsequent testimonies, and we're 321 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: going to get to those in a moment, do support 322 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 1: that three shots number. It seems like some papers may 323 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: have run on the assumption that it was just two 324 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: in their haste to get the news to print. As 325 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: we said, we're reading these news reports that are happening 326 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: like day of But that is also the kind of 327 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: detail that you might think would surely show up in 328 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: a police report. Of course it would. Hey, there isn't 329 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: one because there was no police investigation. A coroner's jury 330 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: was assembled there at the home, but there was never 331 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: a police presence. They were never called. Now how the 332 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: coroner ended up there but the police didn't is a 333 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: little unclear, although it is most likely that someone from 334 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 1: the house staff or the family called the coroner ed 335 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: McMahon through some sort of personal connection. The Weekly News 336 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: Advertiser of Montreal even noted in an article about the 337 00:19:56,119 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: shooting quote the family refuse any information and the ps 338 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: LELAE only heard of the matter by accident. The family 339 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: have issued a statement, but from it nothing can be 340 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: learned of the details of the tragedy beyond the fact 341 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 1: that two people are dead. We'll get into the details 342 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: of those witness testimonies to try to unravel this thing 343 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: a bit after we first pause to hear from the 344 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: sponsors that keep the show going. There were several witness 345 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,719 Speaker 1: statements that were given and heard by the coroner's jury. 346 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: Those statements were given by Peter Redpath, AIDA's son and 347 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:43,440 Speaker 1: Clifford's older brother, Thomas George Roddick, the family doctor Hugh Patton, 348 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 1: and Rollo Campbell, both of whom were doctors. Rose Shallow 349 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,199 Speaker 1: who worked for the Red Paths. Sometimes her name is 350 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: written as Rosa, but it appears to have actually been 351 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: Rose and Charles James Fleet, who also worked in the home. 352 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: According to the coroner's jury report, Peter to the details 353 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: that we've already mentioned. According to Peter Redpath, here's what happened. 354 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: Quote yesterday evening, I saw my brother, the deceased, arriving 355 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: home at around six o'clock. He seemed ill and was tired, 356 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: working hard to prepare for his bar exams. He went 357 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: up to the room of my mother, Ada Maria Mills, 358 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: aged sixty two, and a few seconds later I heard 359 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:25,119 Speaker 1: a shot from a firearm, followed by two others. I 360 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,600 Speaker 1: ran up and broke down the door. I saw my 361 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: mother lying on the floor, and several feet from her, 362 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,479 Speaker 1: my brother also lying in a pool of blood, a 363 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: revolver a foot away from him near his hand. My 364 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: brother had been very nervous for some time. Incidentally, he 365 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: got his mother's adron. She was fifty nine. So doctor 366 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: Roddick also testified that he was called to confirm the death. 367 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,919 Speaker 1: Roddick's testimony really is the one that sets up the 368 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: idea that, based on the position of the bodies, he 369 00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:00,160 Speaker 1: believed that cliff shot his mother and then himself. He's 370 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: also the one that introduced the information that cliff was epileptic, 371 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: and this really establishes the way things shook out in 372 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 1: the jury investigation. But there is a little snag here. 373 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: Roddick had been in Montreal on the day of the shooting, 374 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,639 Speaker 1: which is, you know, not where Square Mile is. It's 375 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: a little outside the city, and by some accounts, he 376 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: didn't actually get to the Square Mile neighborhood until the 377 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: following day when doctor Patten gave his statement. He said 378 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,359 Speaker 1: that Aida had been shot in the back of the 379 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: head and that Clifford was shot through the left temple. 380 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: Doctor Campbell backed up Patten's account and added that he 381 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: thought he saw foam in Clifford's mouth, suggesting that as 382 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: evidence that some kind of epileptic seizure was the cause 383 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,360 Speaker 1: of Clifford's behavior. Rose Shallow stated that she had hearched 384 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: the shots and followed Peter Redpath up the stairs to 385 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: Ada's room, and that she had seen the two bodies 386 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: on the floor a few feet apart, as well as 387 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 1: two revolvers near cliff Charles James Fleet stated that doctor 388 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 1: Campbell had given him the two revolvers from the scene 389 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,160 Speaker 1: to secure, which he produced for the jury to show 390 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: that one had been discharged twice and the other had 391 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: been discharged once. In the matter of the death of 392 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: Ada Redpath, the jury's statement read quote, we the undersigned Jurors, 393 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: having heard the evidence, declare that Aida Maria Mills died 394 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: at Montreal on the thirteenth day of June nineteen hundred 395 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,640 Speaker 1: and one from a gunshot wound apparently inflicted by Clifford 396 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,639 Speaker 1: Joscelyn Redpath, while unconscious of what he was doing and 397 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,879 Speaker 1: temporarily insane owing to an epileptic attack from which he 398 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: was suffering at the time. There is actually a very 399 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: long quote from Ada Redpath's son Harold, which was released 400 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: in a lot of papers along with the news of 401 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:54,640 Speaker 1: the coroner's jury's findings. In it, Harold stated that quote, 402 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: I left Clifford about two o'clock yesterday in good spirits, 403 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:02,159 Speaker 1: though somewhat unwell. In fact, Clifford had been indisposed for 404 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:06,200 Speaker 1: some time owing to hard work preparing for his day examinations. 405 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: No one knows just how the affair occurred. Clifford was 406 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: particularly fond of his mother. The statement from Harold Redpath 407 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,399 Speaker 1: goes on to say that the older brother believed that 408 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: the only explanation that made any sense was that Clifford 409 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: had some sort of quote, moment of temporary aberration and 410 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,440 Speaker 1: that led to the shooting. The brothers had, according to Harold, 411 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: been planning a trip to Quebec so that Clifford could 412 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,880 Speaker 1: get in some quiet time and continue his studying. As 413 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,159 Speaker 1: we said, this statement is long. It's paragraphs long, and 414 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: even though it's framed in the write up as though 415 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: it was part of a conversation that Harold had with 416 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: a reporter, it really reads like a press release. Harold 417 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,360 Speaker 1: may have been exactly as well spoken as the lengthy 418 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: quote makes him seem, but his answer may also have 419 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,679 Speaker 1: been edited by the paper to take out things like 420 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 1: repetition or to improve clarity. This also makes it seem 421 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: kind of like this was the family's one public statement 422 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: that they were going to make on the matter. Yeah, 423 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: if you've ever read somebody's interview and read a press statement, 424 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,160 Speaker 1: they're not the same in tone, and this one definitely, 425 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: like I said, it reads like a press statement. There 426 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,959 Speaker 1: are some pieces of information that are held up as 427 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: evidence that Clifford read Path was not in any way suicidal. 428 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 1: One of these is a check which he wrote to 429 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: the Bar of Montreal just two days before the shooting 430 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: to pay for his examination fee. As we mentioned earlier, 431 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: he was also in discussion with his bosses at the 432 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: law firm where he was apprenticing about becoming a partner 433 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: just days before this all happened. People that hold this 434 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,959 Speaker 1: theory that Clifford was not suicidal point out that conversely, 435 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: his sister Amy's descriptions of their mother Ada in the 436 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: months leading up to the deaths describe her as being 437 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: in a very depressed state where she considered life a burden. 438 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,560 Speaker 1: The funeral for Ada and Clifford was held at Saint 439 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: John the Evangelist Church the day after the coroner's jury 440 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,960 Speaker 1: came to their conclusion regarding the shooting, was less than 441 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 1: forty eight hours after it happened. This was unusual because 442 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: they were both given a high Anglican funeral, even though 443 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: suicide and homicide would have both been disqualifiers for such 444 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 1: a service for Clifford, a paper written by researchers from 445 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,399 Speaker 1: McGill University about the family and the deaths for the 446 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: Material Culture Review makes the case that Amy Redpath was 447 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 1: influential enough in the Square Mile community she was able 448 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: to get Clifford the formal funeral, despite it really being 449 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: contrary to church policy. Both Ada and Clifford were interred 450 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 1: at Mount Royal Cemetery. Yeah. It's also pointed out often 451 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: that in municipal records there are no suicides listed as 452 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: having occurred that year. So whether or not Amy was 453 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: influential enough to have made sure those were not on 454 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 1: the record, we don't know. But Amy really controlled the 455 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,639 Speaker 1: flow of information or black thereof about the shooting and 456 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: prevented anything else from spreading to the public. She seems 457 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,639 Speaker 1: to have destroyed any discussion of the matter that may 458 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: have passed among family members in letters, and wrote to 459 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: her sister in law on August twenty fourth, so just 460 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: a little over two months after this tragedy quote, I 461 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: spent yesterday sorting and tearing up old letters, rather a 462 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: mournful business. One of the things that really stands out 463 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 1: as odd in the weeks and years following the murder 464 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: suicide was the way in which cliff was discussed within 465 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: the red Path family in the few surviving letters. Every 466 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: note about this tragedy speaks of what an amazing young 467 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: man he was, and how adored he was, what a 468 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: loss it is that he's gone. But the same really 469 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: cannot be said for Ada. They don't say much of her. 470 00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: We don't know, of course, if this is a case 471 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 1: where Clifford's youth played a role in shaping the way 472 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: that people in the family grieved for him, or if 473 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: there were any kind of missives that expressed anger about 474 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: his actions or spoke more mournfully about the family matriarch 475 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: that we just don't have. Ada is a state valued 476 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 1: at one hundred and seventy nine thousand and eighty six 477 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: dollars and six cents was distributed among her heirs. Amy 478 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,679 Speaker 1: chose to stay in the house where her brother and 479 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: her mother died, although the rest of the family mostly 480 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 1: left the Montreal area in the decade that followed the tragedy. 481 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: She also married doctor Thomas Roddick, who had been the 482 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: attending physician to Missus Redpath and a key witness in 483 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: the Corner's inquest. Three years after the shooting, one of 484 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: the Redpath cousins, Lily Dougal, wrote a novel titled The 485 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: Summit House Mystery, which borrowed details from this murder suicide 486 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,600 Speaker 1: at the Redpath home in nineteen oh one. Yeah, it 487 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: also kind of combined some details that seem like they 488 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: came from the Lizzie Board stories, So like, it's not 489 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: something you can point to you and go, haha, this 490 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: is there clues. It was definitely fictionalized stuff. McGill University 491 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: still has the Red Path Library and the Red Path Museum. 492 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,000 Speaker 1: Their family donated a lot of money to the university 493 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 1: over the years. The library's function has changed. It's now 494 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: used as a hall for large events like school ceremonies, 495 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 1: But the Red Path Museum, which was designed by architects 496 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: Hutchinson and Steel in eighteen eighty two and has been 497 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: called the first purpose built museum in Canada. Is still 498 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 1: a natural sciences museum. The Red Path Mansion is not 499 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: a place you can visit, though it no longer exists. 500 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: The home was demolished in nineteen fifty six. Amy had 501 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: died two years prior, and the property was purchased by 502 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,800 Speaker 1: a development company. We will, of course, never know what 503 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: exactly happened in Ada's bedroom on June thirteenth, nineteen oh one. 504 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 1: We know that both of those people died by gunshot, 505 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: but because of how the whole incident was handled, it 506 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,480 Speaker 1: can be difficult to trust even the official record on 507 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,479 Speaker 1: the matter of who shot who, and we have no 508 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: idea what may have transpired between Ada and Cliff to 509 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: catalyze their tragic deaths. If there was any insight into that, 510 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 1: it seems that Amy Redpath probably destroyed it. One thing 511 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,680 Speaker 1: we haven't talked about regarding the Redpath family and Amy 512 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: in particular, is that she was a writer. She wrote 513 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,239 Speaker 1: a number of closet dramas those are plays that were 514 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,080 Speaker 1: written to be performed either privately or not at all, 515 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 1: and she also wrote poetry. She wrote two poems about 516 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: her brother cliff after he died. We don't know of 517 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: any that she wrote for her mother. One of her 518 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,240 Speaker 1: poems to Clifford, which is titled perfect in Thy Promise, 519 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 1: clearly shows her working through her grief in an effort 520 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: to find peace in the loss of her brother. So 521 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: that seemed like a good place to end this one. 522 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: Perfect in Thy Promise as the but unfolding, perfect in 523 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 1: thyself as rose, fresh blown, ever gracious, all that's pure 524 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: and good, upholding perfect spirit. Hast thou really flown? Must 525 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: I dwell alone the many dismal morrows, far from blissful 526 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: hope together spanned, hope of service through assuaging dearth and sorrows, 527 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:17,000 Speaker 1: hope of golden deeds. Together planned know the heavy morning 528 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 1: weeds I tear as under struggle from the clouds that 529 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,600 Speaker 1: blacken round, close my ears to their unholy woesome thunder, 530 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: rise anew to life from grief, unbound perfect spirit. Now 531 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: I know that thou art near me in thy prescient calm. 532 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: I rest content, trusting in thy love to guard and 533 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: help and steer me till I too have reached life's 534 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: high ascent. Not the most halloween ee of Halloweene episodes, 535 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: but you know, a mystery murder seemed like the right 536 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: fit for today. You have some listener man for us, 537 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: I sure do. It's about an older episode and an 538 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: artist that I love, because that seems like a peppy 539 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: place to land. This. This is from our listener, Andy, 540 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: who writes, Hi, Holly and Tracy. I've been listening to 541 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: the podcast since twenty fifteen ish and I'm always trying 542 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: to come up with a good reason to write you. Well, 543 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: this may or may not actually be a good reason, 544 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: but it made me think of you as an asign. 545 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: Can you just write us and say hi, and also hello? 546 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: If you're going to talk about art, that's always a 547 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 1: very good reason. Andy writes, I was in Venice recently 548 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,280 Speaker 1: at the end of a three month trip around Europe, 549 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: and the Palazzo Ducale had a special showing of Artemisia 550 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: Gentileski's Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy on loan from a private collection. 551 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,959 Speaker 1: To be honest, I think a lot of people brushed 552 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 1: past it, and I wouldn't have even known who Artemisia 553 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: Gentileski was if it wasn't for the podcast, So I 554 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,520 Speaker 1: kind of felt like I was in on a secret. 555 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: I wish I had some insightful info to add here, 556 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: but this is mostly just me popping in to say hello, 557 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 1: and you don't really want the deluge of all the 558 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: history nerdery I soaked up on the trip, though, I 559 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: suspect you two of all people would appreciate it. Thank 560 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: you for all the cheers, Andy. This also has photos 561 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 1: of that painting and Venice and her cat and Andy's 562 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 1: cat Luna, which is always a delight. Luna is very 563 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,320 Speaker 1: very cute and and is wearing a kicky little red 564 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 1: sweater and looks adorable. Yay, Andy, thank you so much. No, 565 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,959 Speaker 1: I love hearing that people you know appreciate it art 566 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: in a new way because of the show. That's a 567 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 1: great honor to us. But also ooh lucky. Anytime there's 568 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 1: a painting like that that's normally in a private collection 569 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,000 Speaker 1: and not a public view and then goes up as 570 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 1: a loner, that's kind of a thrill. So I'm glad 571 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: you got to see it, and I'm glad you shared 572 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 1: that with us. If you would like to write to us, 573 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 1: you can do so at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 574 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media. As missed 575 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: in History and if you haven't subscribed to the podcast yet, 576 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: easiest pie. You can do that on the iHeartRadio app 577 00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you 578 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For 579 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:11,719 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 580 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.